http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/12/14/sweet-briar-debt-rating-upgraded
“Sweet Briar’s $44 Million Rescue Offers Unusual Fundraising Lessons”
https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Sweet-Briar-s-44-Million/242698
The debt rating from S&P Global Ratings was raised from B to B+.
https://www.standardandpoors.com/en_US/delegate/getPDF;jsessionid=BF368C6974335F0027D727DDF77E2707?articleId=1824955&type=COMMENTS&subType=REGULATORY describes the rating scale. B is one of the ratings indicating “significant speculative characteristics” (i.e. “junk bonds” with a relatively high risk of default).